Axelrod: Romney’s Mormonism ‘not fair game’

On Sunday’s “State of the Union” on CNN, Obama senior campaign adviser David Axelrod reiterated the position that his campaign repudiates the use of Mormonism as a political weapon to attack former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

However, Axelrod said he had hoped Romney would exercise the same judgment regarding Obama and his relationship with the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

“Absolutely, and we have right along,” Axelrod said to CNN “State of the Union” host Candy Crowley in repudiating the notion of politicizing Romney’s faith. “We’ve said that’s not fair game. And we wish that Gov. Romney would stand up as strongly and as resolutely consistently to refute these kinds of things on his side. Instead, he’s amplified them in the past. And he’s put logs on that fire. And that’s not leadership.”

However, he added that Romney’s response to those attempting to make hay out of the Wright issue was inadequate.

“Tepidly and reluctantly, he did,” Axelrod said of Romney’s condemnation of using the Wright issue. “But, in February, he actually raised the issue and said it was fair game. So, you know, the problem is you have to be consistent in your position. And you have to be genuine and firm in your — you can’t be grudging in your position, or you send the wrong signals.”